CHAPTER ONE

You know that the school year has finally started when you wake up to the smell of burnt toast and the blearing noise of your family yelling over the top of each other. I grab my trunk (which I had wisely packed last night) and head down the stairs to my family. I stand at the bottom of the staircase staring at the hustle and bustle of my family in work mode.

Mum is trying to make sure that Hugo, my brother has everything in his trunk before leaving. I highly doubt that they will remember everything, even though he is two years younger than me, he still has the brain maturity of a three year old. My dad is helping Uncle Harry (yes, the Boy Who Lived is casually walking around in a house, doing normal things other than saving the world) carry the trunks and all the animals into the car. My cousins James, Albus and Lilly are playing a game of exploding snap, continuing even though they are being shouted at by their mum, Auntie Ginny, from the other room.

"Mornin' love, how was your sleep?" my dad asks grabbing my trunk and planting a kiss on my forehead.

"Morning Dad. And it was great, you?" I call after him as he walks the trunk to the car. He puts he thumb high up into the air and continues walking.

I go to the kitchen and grab a slice of half burnt toast and sit down at the kitchen table.

"Hello Rose, how are you?" mum says coming into the kitchen grabbing a drink of pumpkin juice.

"Good thanks. You seem a bit stressed out?"

"Your brother is driving me insane! He would lose his head if it wasn't screwed on!"

I laugh taking another bite of my toast.

"So it's your sixth year at school. How are you feeling?" her mum asked resting her head on her arm, patient and curious.

"Like any other day. It's not much difference really."

"Next year there will be a difference though."

"Yeah, I'm excited for next year."

I suddenly heard a loud BANG from the living room. I scrambled over to see a guilty looking James, Albus and Lilly kneeling over a shrivelled up pack of exploding snap. Next to them stands a very angry looking Ginny. Dad and Uncle Harry coming running in, wands ready, eyes alarmed.

"Is everyone alright?" Uncle Harry asks "What happened?"

"Our children do not know when enough is enough!" Ginny says, voice shaky.

"The packet was old and overused. It just sorta….exploded," Albus whispers, dumbfound.

"Well that's what Exploding Snap does, had a good game goin' too!" James exclaims slouching back against the couch arms folded.

"JAMES POTTER! YOU ARE NEARLY EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD! START ACTING LIKE IT!" Aunty Ginny screams. With her face as red as her hair and her fists clenched she storms out of the room and out the front yard.

We all stand here, shocked. Aunt Ginny has never acted like that before.

"For once, could you just…" Uncle Harry sighs and shakes his head. He then walks out after Ginny. We soon hear them apparate.

"I guess they aren't coming to the station" Lily whispers.


"Good morning mother" I say kissing her on the cheek, joining her at the breakfast table.

"Good morning dear."

I butter my toast and pour myself some pumpkin juice. As usual my father wasn't here, him having a busy schedule at St Mungos, he leaves early in the morning. I still hoped that he would be coming to the station to say goodbye.

"Excited for this year?" my mother asks opening the Daily Prophet and sipping her tea.

"It's just like any other year really. Not much will change."

"You have changed, Scorpius."

"What?"

"Yes, you are starting to look more like your father every day. When he was your age though, he didn't look as much as a man as you do now," Mother says, staring into my eyes, a small sad smile on her lips.

I just nod my head and say "Oh."

After breakfast I go back up to my room to grab my trunk. I catch my reflection in the mirror and have to look at it a couple of times to make sure it was actually me. Not my father.

I have the same blonde hair as him. Same cold steel eyes. Every feature I could pinpoint about me was my fathers. Except my body build. Tall and skinny but muscly in all the right places. I always was good looking but I was a boy then, now I am more of a man.

I smile at my reflection and walk down the stairs, shaking my head. Oh how time flies.

"Are you ready?" Mother says standing at the doorway.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I say holding out my arm for her to grab. She clenches my arm and then apparatus, bringing me with her. We land in an alleyway on the right side of Kings Cross station. We walk down the alley until there is an opening and turn right to be faced with Kings Cross Station. Muggle cars are everywhere and people scramble towards the entrance. I look around to try and find another family with a trunk on a trolley with an owl or a toad or a cat strapped to the back. My eyes land on a huge family consisting of mainly red heads.

Great. The Potter/Weasley and every other inbred name they carry. That's the lot that sent my Grandmother to jail. (They also sent my Grandfather but he is a prat and couldn't care less about him.) I growl and my mother snaps her head to look at me harshly.

"Scorpius Malfoy you'll be nice to them this year!"

"Why should I? They never return the favour." I grumble.

"They have done a lot more favours than you'd think, young man. Be nice."

What that's supposed to mean? I shrug and walk with my mother over to the entrance. We will have to pass them and knowing my mother she will no doubt say a polite hello. Always the one for peace she is.


"Where's Fred and the others?" Lilly said once we all got out of the car at Kings Cross.

"Lilly, we have like fifty 'others'! Do you think you could be a little more specific?" Hugo says heaving his trunk from the boot and putting it onto a trolley.

Lilly rolls her eyes and snaps "Lucy, Fred and Roxanne!"

Hugo stuck his tongue out at her and I laughed.

"I don't know, they should be getting here soon," I say pushing my trolley towards James who stands furthest away from the car.

"Hey," I say standing next to him. I noticed when after his parents apparated that he had been abnormally quite.

"Hey."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm great Rosie."

I give him an incredulous look and he sighs.

"I'm worried about mum."

"Yeah, I think my mum and dad are too. She acted really strange before."

"I don't know what's gotten into her lately. I know she was never the same after Uncle Fred died but she never acted like that! Besides, that was years ago," he says putting his hands on his head.

"Would you ever get over it if Albus or Lilly died?" I ask.

It doesn't take long for him to answer, "No, I guess not."

"She is still mourning probably."

"I know this going to sound harsh but if that's it, then she needs to accept it."

"James! That's your mother you are talking about!" I gasp, shocked.

"Exactly! We are talking about mum here! Mum is strong and she isn't the kind to do that. She has been fine for the past eighteen years now! Why would she all of a sudden break down?"

He caught me. I have no clue why Aunt Ginny is acting this way.

Before I could answer we are interrupted with a high pitched, lovely voice. "Hello Mr and Mrs Weasley! It is a pleasure to see you again!"

I turn to see Astoria Malfoy's big warm smile and her hand stretched out to my parents. My heart hammered in my chest and my eyes wide with fear. But it wasn't Astoria I feared. It was the boy (well, judging by the way he looked now I guess he isn't a boy anymore) standing to her side.

I turned to James but he kept his eyes on Scorpius. I grabbed his hand and led him toward Lilly, Hugo and Albus who stood behind my parents.

"Oh, hello again! Please, call us by our first names," my mother smiled grasping Astoria's hand.

"Very well. Ronald, I hear you captured old Greyback last week. I wanted to congratulate you, that old man has been on the run for years! About time he got locked up." Astoria says shaking Dads hand.

At the mention of Greyback, my father and Scorpius tensed. This was going into a conversation neither of them wanted.

"Aren't you friends with the Greybacks?" Hugo says to her, obviously confused. Lilly elbows him and Mum gives him a disapproving look.

"Not since the battle of Hogwarts. We don't particularly like to mix with that sort anymore," she says, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation.

"Please excuse our son, Astoria. After all, he is young and curious." Mum laughs light heartedly. Astoria waves it off.

"Well, thank you Astoria." Dad says, trying to be polite.

"This must be your son, Scorpius is it?" Mum says, reaching out a hand to him.

"Yes. Hello Mrs Weasley, pleasure to finally meet you" He says politely grasping her hand. He didn't make eye contact or notice my dad being there at all. He didn't notice anyone else except my mother. Of course, who could ignore my mother? The Brightest Witch of her age!

"Thank you! You are in Roses and Albus' year level right? I can remember them mentioning you a couple of times."

"Uh, yes I am. I hope they had, umm, some good things to say." Scorpius chuckled.

"Well, yes. Of course." Mum said quietly.

A silence rushed over us and it was becoming more and more awkward. I have to do something about this or else I think I might throw up.

"Mum, it's almost time to go!" I say loud enough for Astoria and Scorpius to hear.

"Oh it is too! We must find your other cousins too!" she says turning to us with relief in her expression, "Astoria, it was a pleasure catching up with you! And you too Scorpius." My mother smiled shaking Astorias and Scorpius' hand.

"The pleasure was mine" Astoria smiled.

"Say hello to Draco for us," Dad said, "shocked not to see him here!"

Oh no. I look at Hugo and he stares at me. Dad hates Draco Malfoy, Scorpius' father. I understand his reasons but whenever he mentions Mr Malfoy, it never ends well. I glance at Scorpius, he doesn't seem to angry but that boy is explosive.

I don't even know why I am panicking. What will Scorpius do? Nothing. And if he tries then his reputation will only decrease. Not that he has much to lose.

"Yes well he is a very busy man. Nice to talk to you, but better let you go! Bye!" Astoria, less than politely grabbed her son and walked off.